Monthly Archives: July 2012

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This delicious, vegetarian and VEGAN, soup was made by my mother while we were up in the Yukon a couple weeks ago. She got the recipe from her friend Karen, and I got the recipe from my mom. It is hearty and delicious. We mopped the soup up with my mom’s throw-together buttermilk biscuits, which Gen LOVED. This soup will help sop up the alcohol in your system after munching the treats below.

Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS

2 cups red lentils

2 tbsp olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 large carrots, chopped small

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

4-6 tsp turmeric

4-6 tsp cumin seed

12 tsp cracked black peppercorns

1 can(796 ml) chopped tomatoes

6 cups vegetable broth

1 can coconut milk (398 ml)

12 fresh lemon squeezed

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 15 minutes.

Add your water, lentils, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer at med. for 15 minutes.

Add coconut milk and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for at least 1 hour.

In the meantime, make biscuits!

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with lemon slices, a dollop of plain yogurt, and cilantro!

Buttermilk Biscuits

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

3 heaping tsp baking powder

1/2 cup margarine (or butter)

3/4 buttermilk to start, more as needed

DIRECTIONS

A quick note: My mom has this recipe in her mind, so I am transcribing her instructions as given on the phone. Adding the milk is the contested bit as her instructions were “as much milk as needed to get the right consistency…” Okay.. thanks! Haha, so I’ve estimated to start with about 3/4 cup and go from there. You will probably use up to 1 1/2 cups, but start small!

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Cut in the margarine with a pastry cutter, until the mixture is like pebbles. You want marg bits the size of peas, evenly through the flour mixture.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix until a sticky dough has formed. Add more buttermilk as needed, but don’t overmix. Once it has come together, you are done.

Plop the dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Pat the dough into a roughly even, thick circle. My mom emphases the need to keep the biscuits are thick!

Cut out circles with a glass dipped in flour. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes, or until golden. Pull one open to check for doneness, it should be fluffy.

Veggies getting their sweat on.

Mom insists that the most important part of the recipe is a chunk of carrot for the dog.

Getting ready to cook it all down a bit.

Cutting the butter into the flour. Biscuit time!

This shot was made possible only after I told mom, “No, it needs to be pouring out. Pooooourrring out” I got a sassy look.

Biscuits of heaven. They are fluffy on the inside with the perfect crunch on the outside.

The holy grail of recipes, my mom’s recipe book. One day I’d like to transcribe this for my sister and I.

Coming back from my beer lunch, I casually clicked over to this site to see how traffic was doing, as I do every day (the website checking… not the beer lunching… well, maybe), and BOOM my traffic was exploding!

Now, I regularly have pretty good traffic for a food blog that is run as a hobby. Those tiny little blips up there represent daily traffic of about 50-100 visits, which I am happy enough with. The second biggest blip, the first one on the left is about 200 people. So you can only imagine my excitement seeing this tower of awesome coming directly from The Kraken’s Facebook page. Thanks guys! Those rum cupcakes were amazing and were enhanced, no, MADE by the addition of The Kraken’s rum.

If you just love to put alcohol in things, other than drinks… cause… who doesn’t?!, check out these other alcohol based recipes!

This meal rocks. I know that is tooting my own horn, but seriously, this is good eats. Gen, when he came home at 11pm and took a bite of the cold leftovers, said, “This is better than most restaurant food.” Not loving the “most,” but I’ll take it! The stuffed shells are cozy, warm, downhome eats. The salad is bright, tangy, and texture-rich. Awesome combo that I will surely make again. Once again, I found the salad on the wonderful Budget Bytes and made very slight adjustments. While most recipes for stuffed shells call for spinach, I LOVE Swiss chard, and it was on sale, so I used it instead. It adds a little sweetness and a nice variety of colour to the dish. Also, the step-by-step is PACKED with pictures… just a warning.

Stuffed Shells

Adapted from a Canadian Living recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 lb ground beef

3 small (or 1.5 large) red onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes

1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomato sauce

1 box jumbo pasta shells (these were hard to find, I had to hit up 4 grocery stores… I was worried I’d have to stuff tiny little shells)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 bunches (about 10 leaves) of Swiss chard (I used both the white and red versions)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

4 green onions, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tub (475g) ricotta cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F

In large pan, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; cook beef, breaking up with spoon, for 8 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain fat, and remove meat from pan. Set aside.

Trim your Swiss chard, removing the tips of the stems and any brown spots. Rinse the chard and cut/tear into quarters. Steam the chard until tender, about 10 minutes. Place steamed chard onto a tea towel to dry a bit.

DIRECTIONS

Tear or cut the kale leaves from the stems. Cut the leaves into 2-inch squares and then rinse well under cool water (in a colander). Allow the kale to drain as you prepare the rest of the salad.

In a bowl combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, clove of garlic, salt, and pepper. Using a hand blender, blend until the garlic is minced and the dressing is smooth.

Wash the apple and chop it into chunks. Roughly chop the walnut halves. Make sure the kale is as dry as possible and then combine it in a large bowl with the apples, walnuts, and dried cranberries. Pour the dressing on top and toss to coat.

Step-by-steps

Preheat oven to 350°F

In large pan, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; cook beef, breaking up with spoon, for 8 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain fat, and remove meat from pan. Set aside.

Trim your Swiss chard, removing the tips of the stems and any brown spots. Rinse the chard and cut/tear into quarters. Steam the chard until tender, about 10 minutes. Place steamed chard onto a tea towel to dry a bit.

Swiss chard is one of my favourites. Also wonderful steamed and sautéed with butter and garlic.

I need to apologize for my disappearance lately. I’d love to blame it on the romanticism of married life, but truly, I have been insanely busy, commuting out to New Westminister for audiobook recording, researching for my thesis, and trying to keep up with the ridiculous number of professional commitments I’ve signed up for. It’s all very exciting but it is also exhausting and terribly it is Not Crocker that has suffered… oh and my husband, because I’ve barely cooked. But! BUT! Today I made chicken salad. As a meal. AS A MEAL. And it was glorious and easy. I’ve always thought of chicken salad as something you make with left over chicken, but cooking chicken fresh, for the purpose of chicken salad is AWESOME. Recommend, 10/10, will cook again. I got the recipe base from one of my favourite blogs, Budget Bytes, and I adjusted it just for my own tastes and personal preferences! I am going to try this recipe with a marinade on my chicken one day and report back!

Directions

Season both sides of the chicken breasts with a light sprinkle of salt, pepper, and ground ginger. Cook the chicken breast on a grill, I used our counter-top one, or in a skillet until cooked through. Refrigerate the cooked chicken breast while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Slice the green onions, and chop the apple, pepper, and celery into small pieces. For the apple, I quartered it, cut the quarters into thirds and sliced those thirds into small chunks. Put the green onion, celery, apple, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries in a large bowl, sprinkle with a little lime juice to prevent the apples from browning.

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Taste the mixture to see if you prefer more curry powder.

Take the cooled chicken out. Cut the chicken into small cubes and place it in the large bowl with the rest of the chopped ingredients. Stir to combine. Pour the dressing over top and stir to coat.

Eat. I am definitely making a sandwich with this sometime. Soooo tasty. Oh yes, and it may or may not be accompanied by a fruity beer.

Fresh mayo in the tall cup, veggies and spices, ready to go!

Okay, okay, so the recipe says to pour the dressing onto the veggies, but I just chopped and plopped the veggies onto my dressing. Works either way!

These are different than my normal chocolate chip cookies. These are buttery, fluffy, light on the chocolate but not light on the richness. I added my favourite sweets spice, cardamon, and my ever-present nuts, walnuts. I made these cookies HUGE, mostly by accident (I have no smaller glasses), but also because I love me some big cookies. This recipe involves some fridge time, but don’t worry, totally worth it.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups salted butter

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (chopped into mini-chocolate-chip-sized pieces)

Directions

Brown the butter! Just a note, because this is such a large amount, cut the butter into cubes before adding it to the pot to allow a more even melting/browning. Once browned, pour into a heat-proof bowl and allow it to come to room temperature. Once RT, throw it in the fridge for about 20 minutes, you want it to solidify a bit.

Remove the partially-solidified brown butter from the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Scrape the brown butter into a large bowl, add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and well, again, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Loosely cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease them).

Remove the dough from fridge and turn out onto a lightly-floured surface. Section the dough into three parts and roll one section into a medium rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Sprinkle this first dough layer with a third of your chocolate chips and a third of your walnuts. Top with a second piece of dough, and sprinkle it another third of the chocolate and walnuts. Top with the final piece of dough and sprinkle the remaining chocolate and walnuts.

Gently roll out your giant cookie sandwich, with a floured rolling pin. Roll it to about a 1 inch thick (I am terrible at rolling, so this ignore my rolling pictures).

Cut the dough into circles with either a cookie cutter, or a glass. Dip your cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Move the rounds onto your prepared cookie sheets, space them about 1 inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges have just set.

Remove the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Step-by-step

Brown the butter! Just a note, because this is such a large amount, cut the butter into cubes before adding it to the pot to allow a more even melting/browning. Once browned, pour into a heat-proof bowl and allow it to come to room temperature. Once RT, throw it in the fridge for about 20 minutes, you want it to solidify a bit.

Remove the partially-solidified brown butter from the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Scrape the brown butter into a large bowl, add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and well, again, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Loosely cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease them).

Remove the dough from fridge and turn out onto a lightly-floured surface. Section the dough into three parts and roll one section into a medium rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Stacked and ready to roll.

Sprinkle this first dough layer with a third of your chocolate chips and a third of your walnuts. Top with a second piece of dough, and sprinkle it another third of the chocolate and walnuts. Top with the final piece of dough and sprinkle the remaining chocolate and walnuts.

Gently roll out your giant cookie sandwich, with a floured rolling pin. Roll it to about a 1 inch thick (I am terrible at rolling, so this ignore my rolling pictures).

A slight step-up from my sloppy hand forming.

Cut the dough into circles with either a cookie cutter, or a glass. Dip your cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Move the rounds onto your prepared cookie sheets, space them about 1 inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges have just set.

Remove the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Sorry for the ridiculous delay between posts, going away has meant a full schedule upon my return. I’ve been running around, working like a mad woman, trying to catchup, keep up, and not die trying. Anyway, this is one of the delightful appetizers from the wedding. I am waiting on some pictures and recipes from my mom whose camera I kept using because I couldn’t locate mine. These are ridiculously simple and really delicious. Crowd pleasers for sure!

Jalapeño Cheese Squares

Ingredients

6 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

6 eggs beaten

2 tbsp heavy cream

2 tsps green onion, minced

1 small can of jalapeño peppers (fresh would be great too, 2 or three, well chopped)

This time I am in the Yukon! Genesis and I flew home on the 8th to stay with my parents for a week. It’s been wonderful so far, in fact, I almost got a sunburn on the first day! We are busy as ever and are excited for Jon and Kellie and the kids to get here in the next few days. There has been a lot of great cooking and some baking (with much more to come) so I promise a flurry of posts when I get the chance to sit down and create them! In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of my parents’ amazing house that I would be crushed if they sold! Hear that mom and dad? Crushed!

The newest party area, with a fire pit, next to my dad’s Man Shed.

They’ve put in an above-ground pool and waterslide.

While this walkway was being built we called it “the dock”… maybe just me.

Keep an eye out for some new cakes, a great soup, biscuits, and other Sellars-family/ my mom’s recipes!

I love chocolate, particularly dark chocolate and this mousse is a celebration of my love! It takes a few bowls, but is totally worth it. It is light and airy, mousse-style; rich and indulgent, dark chocolate-style. I like to top it with some fresh summer berries, a dollop of lightly-sweetened whipped cream, or a quick drizzle of liqueur. I served this to a small party of friends I had over last night, quote of the night came from Tobias who said, “THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER PUT IN MY FACE.” I think that is what he said, other friends, correct me if I am wrong.

Ingredients

Directions

In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in coffee over medium heat. Set aside.

In the top of a double boiler over hot, (not simmering or boiling) water, melt the dark chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth. When completely melted, whisk in the 1/4 cup of cream and the coffee/sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

Beat chilled cream to soft peaks, and fold into chocolate mixture, very gently until totally mixed.

Pour mousse into a large serving bowl, or 8 individual dessert glasses. Cover with plastic wrap, chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Step-by-step

In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in coffee over medium heat. Set aside.

In the top of a double boiler over hot, (not simmering or boiling) water, melt the dark chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth. When completely melted, whisk in the 1/4 cup of cream and the coffee/sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

Genesis gets excited once in awhile about food from his country, El Salvador. One of these things is yuca. We don’t have it often, but it is always a treat when we do. The texture of yuca is fluffy, and dense. It is like a super rich potato crossed with fluffy bread. You’re confused, I understand, just trust me. Oh, and yuca looks like a waxy log, and when you peel it it smells like lavender… so there’s that too. But, once you’ve peeled it, cut out any brown spots, boiled it briefly, and baked it, you have awesome fries. Give it a shot! Hell, I might even try mashing them, I’ve heard good things!

Waxy logs, see, I told you! Scroll down for the interior-deliciousness.

Yuca Fries

Ingredients

Two yuca roots (see above)

your favourite oil

salt

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Peel your yuca well. It is easy to do, that skin is not as thick as it looks and feels.

Cut the yuca into three even chunks, cut those chunks into fry-sized wedges.

Fill a large pot with water and some salt, bring to a boil. Add yuca. Boil your yuca for 8 minutes, this will help the baking.

Drain the yuca and pat dry. Some of the yuca might seem a little gummy, this will sort itself out during baking.

Lay the yuca on a parchment-covered cookie sheet and drizzle well with oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt (and spices of your choosing).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping once, until crisp and browned on the outside, creamy on the inside.

As evidenced by my kale chips of yesterday, I bought a ton of kale that I needed to use up, and I wanted to try something new. My mom makes this killer chicken and broccoli braid, which I will make one day, and I thinking of that tasty loaf, I decided to use up my extra kale, some of the BUCKET of feta that Gen brought home from Costco, the red onions I have on hand, and those pantry favourites, pine nuts. This was easy, delicious, and perfect as a meal. I also finally made my challah bread perfectly, so HUZZAH!

Ingredients

Directions

Make your challah dough! It has to rest for 1 hr, so prepare for this.

After the challah has rested for about 45 minutes, start the rest of the braid, saves you time!

Wash kale, cut out the spine, and sauté with a drizzle of oil in a pan over high heat for 5-8 minutes, until wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Sauté onions with another drizzle of olive oil over high heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes until translucent and beginning to brown. Set aside.

Roll out 2/3 of the Challah dough (reserve the rest for some sugary rolls) into a rectangle, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Crumble the feta in a row down the centre of the dough. Layer the kale evenly on top of the feta, followed by the onions and pine nuts.

Using a pizza cutter, cut 1 inch strips along the side of the dough. Twist the strips and pull across the filling, alternating sides. Fold the ends in and pinch to seal. Move the braid onto a parchmented cookie sheet. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and brush onto the braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake the braid for 20-25 minutes.

Step-by-step!

Make your challah dough! It has to rest for 1 hr, so prepare for this.

Dough ready to roll.

After the challah has rested for about 45 minutes, start the rest of the braid, saves you time!

Wash kale, cut out the spine, and sauté with a drizzle of oil in a pan over high heat for 5-8 minutes, until wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Sauté onions with another drizzle of olive oil over high heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes until translucent and beginning to brown. Set aside.

Onions and kale, cooking down.

Roll out 2/3 of the Challah dough (reserve the rest for some sugary rolls) into a rectangle, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Crumble the feta in a row down the centre of the dough. Layer the kale evenly on top of the feta, followed by the onions and pine nuts.

Layered and ready for ‘braiding’

Using a pizza cutter, cut 1 inch strips along the side of the dough. Twist the strips and pull across the filling, alternating sides. Fold the ends in and pinch to seal. Move the braid onto a parchmented cookie sheet. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Resting away.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and brush onto the braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.